Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Phone calls, text messages, screens in the dash. There was a time when it was kids and the radio. Now there's an army of driving distractions to pull our attention from the road. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced on his official blog today the launch of "Faces of Distracted Driving, a site devoted to the danger of driving while distracted.

There is a lot of information on the site, including a summary of state laws, a FAQ and statistics. There are also three stories of people killed by distracted driving with more to be added. It's sobering, and thought provoking. Just a few days ago I received a text on the way home and started to reply when I realized I was veering to the ditch. I straightened out and put away the phone, but I was seconds from being a statistic. I resolved not to text while driving, and these stories reinforced that resolve.

We often don't think about the consequences of our actions, and when we do, we think the worst won't happen to us. But it can. I don't know which scares me more, the thought of leaving my family without a husband and father or taking someone elses loved one away forever because I couldn't be bothered to pull over or get where I'm going before talking or texting.

About Me

Herbert (Bert) Knabe Jr. is a blogger specializing in online
security, privacy and intellectual property. He has long been a fan of
Apple computers and occasionally writes on their products. Online since the mid '80s, he has been blogging on a variety of topics
including U.S. policy and online privacy/security since 2005.

He
has twenty years experience in the newspaper industry, initially as a
production artist, then as a computer technician supporting content
producers. This experience gives him a strong understanding of graphic
production for print and web.

Photography has long been a passion
of Bert's, and he was honored to have a photo included in the PDF
version of the 2011 Plus One Collection. He specializes in cell and
smart phone photography.

Bert lives and goes to church in Lubbock, Texas with his wife of twenty+ years and their five children.